Ascendant

Explainer · 07 of 8

Aspects

Certain angles between two planets are held to matter. These are those angles.

Any two planets are always some number of degrees apart. A handful of those separations are treated as significant, and they are the simple fractions of a circle: a half, a third, a quarter, a sixth.

Sextile, 60°Sextile 60°Square, 90°Square 90°Trine, 120°Trine 120°Opposition, 180°Opposition 180°Conjunction 0°
The five major aspects, as fractions of the circle.
AspectAngleToneReads as
ConjunctionNeutralFused: the two act as one
Opposition180°NeutralFacing off: you swing between them
Square90°FrictionAt odds: uncomfortable, and productive
Trine120°HarmoniousFlowing: a talent you may underuse
Sextile60°HarmoniousSupportive: helps when you invoke it
Semisextile30°HarmoniousA faint, permanent awkwardness
Semisquare45°FrictionA half-sized square, easier to ignore
Quincunx150°FrictionNo shared language: adjust, don't push

Friction is not bad

The trine gets the good press and does the least work. Two planets in easy aspect cooperate without being asked, which means you were never forced to develop them. The square is the uncomfortable one, and it is where most people's actual competence comes from: something in you had to be worked out because it would not resolve on its own.